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Showing posts with label Cremation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cremation. Show all posts

Friday, February 20, 2015

Mother reduced to ashes

BARBARIANISM By J. W. Frazer

A mother was kind and gentle and true,
Had three little angels; oh, how they grew;
With dimples and curls, and contagious smiles;
Were fat and chubby; at play they ran miles.
They were healthy and happy and winsome, too;
Were the loveliest darlings this mother knew.

This charming mother was a willing slave.
Her three from disease she fought to save.
She toiled all day and nursed all night,
And put up for them a terrific fight
Through the help of God and by her care,
He raised them up in answer to prayer.

With mother’s help they grew mature;
Men and maiden were taught to be pure.
The three all married and moved away,
With the promise to return some better day.
Mother became lonely and rather poor.
She rented a room on a Rue Lefleur.

Her form was stooped, her face was drawn,
Her hair was grey and her children gone,
She fainted one day while on the street,
And could stand no more upon her feet.
That saintly mother, with a love so true,
Was left alone to battle it through.

She was weak and sick with none to care,
Not even a friend to say a prayer.
But God’s angels came and took her home,
That forsaken woman, so sad and alone.
This mother, who was once a willing slave,
Was denied the favor of an earthly grave.

The one-time dimpled and angelic three
Were now cold and cruel, as you will see;
For they ordered her body reduced to ashes--
The cheapest disposal, the burial of asses.
A pagan ordeal, so godless and cruel;
Don’t treat your mother as you would a mule!

I found this poem in a tract about burial and cremation -- Cremation and the Bible by Ralph Blake

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Funerary links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

* A Biblical Theology of Burial -- "What, if anything does the Scripture say about burial? The answer might surprise you."
* Burial or Cremation? A Biblical Case FOR Burial and AGAINST Cremation -- "Biblical example is a strong argument in setting forth the ways of God, and it should never be dismissed as insignificant."
* Church member denied funeral due to non-payment of tithes -- "...her deceased mother would not be buried in her home church because of lack of tithe payment."
* Cremation: Is It Christian? -- James W. Fraser, Dubuque, IA: ECS Ministries, 2005
* Cremation vs. Burial: A Biblical Perspective -- "The bulk of Biblical evidence leads us to believe that the burning of the body does not represent something good."
* Grave Signs -- "What I couldn’t understand was how few of my fellow Christians joined in my horror at the thought of a Christian man’s cremation."
* Please Don’t Say These Six Things at My Funeral -- "God now has another angel. Heaven is not going to de-humanize me."
* Should Christians be Cremated? -- "Cremation was not an issue for the early Church, which historically taught that burial was the 'Christian' (Biblical) thing to do for loved ones."
* Should Church have Refused Funeral for Gay Man? -- Incident in Tampa, Florida
* The Empty Tomb and the Emptied Urn -- "My hearers were most provoked by what I said, in passing, about an issue we rarely think of as eschatological: cremation."
* The Tragic Death Of The Funeral -- "Stripped of its euphemistic language, the get-together billed as a “celebration” or even a “party” is, in truth, a gathering of mourners around a corpse."
* Things You SHOULD DO and SHOULD NOT DO When Preaching a Funeral -- "Although we hide ourselves from death continually, funerals force us to look mortality in the eye."
* What Does The Bible Say About Cremation? A Christian Study -- "...burial is preferable because many of the pagans burned the body and the body is not shown much honor at death by incinerating it to ashes."
* What makes a funeral distinctively Christian? -- "The family...want a minister to conduct their loved one’s memorial service...but...they impose a restriction: “No religious stuff. Don’t talk about Jesus or heaven.”"
* When Someone Dies" A pastor answers some common questions about funeral practices and traditions -- "Like all Christian worship, the funeral has both a vertical and a horizontal dimension."

Friday, February 13, 2015

Thaptology: Disposition of a Corpse

Disposition of a Corpse

Historically, a number of practices have been used to dispose of (or preserve) the dead, including mummification and exposure to the elements (and animals). The most common methods of disposition in our society are burial (interment, inhumation), burning (cremation), and donation of a body to medical science (which usually eventually concludes in cremation).  Related to burial (which is usually underground) are also storage in an above-ground tomb or mausoleum (immurement) and burial at sea.

Burial is the common, dominant and preferred method of disposal of the dead recorded in the Bible. There is a consistent thread of preference for burial among God's people. God Himself buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5-6, 8) and in His determinate counsel chose burial for His Son Jesus (Isa. 53:9; John 19:40). Burial was performed by the early disciples for their own members. See Acts 5:6-10 and Acts 8:2. The great initiatory ordinance of baptism incorporates the allegory of a burial. (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12). The “sleep” analogy/metaphor is used several times in the New Testament writing to refer to death (Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:39; Luke 8:52; John 11:11; 1 Cor. 11:30; 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 2 Cor. 5:6-8; 1 Thess. 4:13-16). Sleep and burning are incongruous acts, while one laid out for burial assumes a position reminiscent of sleep. These are some reasons for the Christian to prefer burial over cremation, exposure or some other form of disposal.

“Let the dead bury their dead” is not primarily a burial text. It is about the primacy of the claims of Christ on the believer over the claims of culture, tradition and family (Matthew 8:22; Luke 9:60). Yet it yields a measure of truth regarding the subject. Through it we understand that burial is a physical and temporal benefit, rather than a spiritual exercise. A fine burial may hide a wasted life, while lack of physical care for a body may accompany a treasured soul (Cf. Luke 16:22).

The believer will receive a glorified body (1 Cor. 15:42-49; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Job 19:25-26). Whether the body is buried, burned or consumed by animals will not prevent God's power in resurrection. I am presently unwilling to relegate cremation to the category of sin against God – as something inherently evil. But a biblical thaptology prefers burial above cremation. The main impetus toward cremation is practical – particularly that of cost. Cremation is much less expensive than burial. This is a true concern for many. Yet burials can be made much less expensive than they often are. Guilt and grief (and sometimes greed) can be driving forces in excessive costs for funerals.  Expense as a sign of devotion for a loved one is not totally without reason, though, as Jesus indicates when he rebukes Judas for complaining about the waste of ointment to anoint Jesus (Mark 14:4-9). There is nothing in the Bible to commend cremation to God's people as a method of end of life disposal. When tucked away in a mortuary basement, cremation seems quite civilized. But to behold it as the last view of a loved one, most would be repulsed.

Christian apologist Marcus Minucius Felix, writing perhaps as early as AD 160, says, “Nor, as you believe, do we fear any loss from sepulture,  but we adopt the ancient and better custom of burying in the earth. See, therefore, how for our consolation all nature suggests a future resurrection. The sun sinks down and arises, the stars pass away and return, the flowers die and revive again, after their win-try decay the shrubs resume their leaves, seeds do not flourish again. unless they are rotted: thus the body in the sepulchre is like the trees which in winter hide their verdure with a deceptive dryness.”

In 374 or 375 AD Jerome wrote an account of Paulus the Hermit. Paulus died AD 341, of which Jerome wrote, "Then having wrapped up the body and carried it forth, all the while chanting hymns and psalms according to the Christian tradition." Like Minucius Felix, Jerome's account indicates burial as the practice of early post-apostolic Christians. Further he recites a funeral procession that includes singing or chanting.

We may not be bound by these customs – but how much better to bind ourselves to our forefathers in the faith than the customs of an increasingly ungodly society?


Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Readings on funerals, cremation and burial

Cremation, once a rare exception in this country, is now a popular option. "Should Christians be cremated?" This seems to be a question in the minds of many. Though we cannot answer dogmatically, "No," the imagery of burial is nevertheless a significant and biblical expression of faith that should not be disposed of lightly or for financial reasons alone. The following links add to the Readings on Burial and Cremation that I previously posted. Other links discuss funerals in general, and one even presents a local church's policy guide to conducting funerals.

Ashes to Ashes: Trends in dying
Baptist Funeral Traditions
Conducting Gospel-Centered Funerals
Cremation: Is it a pattern that Christians should follow?
Cremation: What Does God Think?
Harmony Baptist Church Funeral Policy and Guide
Is cremation a valid option for Christians?
To Bury or to Burn? Cremation in Christian Perspective
The Glory of Funerals
What Does The Bible Say About Cremation?

The posting of web links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the viewpoints of the posts linked.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Readings on Burial and Cremation

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the blogs linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the posts linked.

Christian Burial: A Case for Burial
Cremation and a New Kind of Christianity
Cremation and burial in the Bible
Cremation or Burial: A biblical perspective
Does It Matter If We Bury Or Burn?
Does it matter if we're cremated or buried?
Good Question: Cremation Confusion
Is it alright for someone to be cremated?
Is It Wrong to Cremate?
Should Christians be Cremated?

In our country and among Christians, cremation was once a rare exception. Today, especially because of the high and rising costs of burials, many are looking at the cremation option. With that look comes the question, "Should Christians be cremated?" Most of the links above favor burial over cremation, whether or not dogmatically so. That is my position as well.